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Forty Years Later: How Live Aid Changed Charitable Giving And The World
LONDON, ENGLAND AND PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, USA, JUL 13 – Live Aid raised over $150 million for Ethiopian famine relief and reached nearly 2 billion viewers, setting a global standard for music-driven humanitarian efforts.
- On July 13, 1985, benefit concerts took place simultaneously at Wembley in London and at Philadelphia’s JFK Stadium to generate funds for famine relief efforts in Ethiopia.
- The events followed widespread media coverage in October 1984, when a Vancouver pilot flew a BBC crew to northern Ethiopia to document the famine, prompting Bob Geldof to organise the concerts.
- The benefit concerts, held simultaneously in London and Philadelphia, showcased major performers including U2, Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, and others, and were watched live by nearly two billion people across more than 150 nations.
- The event raised more than £114 million for charity and is remembered for iconic performances, including Queen's Freddie Mercury, who was praised as delivering "Freddie's finest hour."
- The Live Aid concerts set a lasting example of large-scale charity events, united global audiences, and helped elevate some music genres, including hip-hop, while inspiring ongoing philanthropic efforts.
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89 Articles
Bob Geldof says David Bowie, not Queen, caused surge in Live Aid donations
David Bowie performs at the Live Aid concert at Wembley Stadium in London, 13th July 1985./Georges De Keerle/Getty Images Bob Geldof is setting the record straight about a moment in the Queen biopic Bohemian Rhapsody that claimed donations to help famine relief in Ethiopia skyrocketed after the band performed at Live Aid. Geldof, one of the founders of Live Aid, told The New York Times that it was actually David Bowie who was responsible for the…
How Bob Dylan’s Live Aid Remark — ‘Pay The Mortgages on Some of the Farms’ — Sparked 40 Years of Activism By Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp & More
Forty years ago, at the Live Aid festival in Philadelphia on July 13, 1985, it took Bob Dylan just a few moments to set in motion the music industry’s longest-running concert for a cause — Willie Nelson’s Farm Aid. Dylan took the stage at JFK Stadium late in the day, just past 10:30 p.m., accompanied by Ronnie Wood and Keith Richards of The Rolling Stones, each with acoustic guitars. (They were preceded by Mick Jagger and Tina Turner’s incendi…
London. The musicians who performed at Live Aid, the transatlantic concert that raised millions to alleviate famine in Ethiopia, met yesterday in London to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the event, attending a special performance of the musical Just For One Day.
40 years ago, the charity Live Aid took place in London and Philadelphia. It is still considered one of the largest television broadcasts in history.
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